The Brain and the Spirit


Book Description

The Brain and the Spirit invites readers to embark on a practice of listening to the Christ story through the earpiece of neuroscience. After many years steeped in brain science, the author had an unexpected encounter with a theologian, James Alison, whose trust in God and forgiveness toward others appeared to defy neurobiological explanation. How did his encounter with the Christ story produce in him the Christlike responses that it did? This question launched the author on a thrilling quest to listen to the scriptures and take up questions of creation, humanity, sin, Jesus, salvation, the Spirit, and the body of Christ, to hear what might get amplified by our ever-expanding understanding of the human brain. Readers are invited to eavesdrop on the twists and turns of the author's story and take up their own practice of listening to the Spirit, scripture and theology through the earpiece of neuroscience, and to become curious how the Christ story may spark trust which unlocks our brain's capacity to engage reality with relationality, kindness, creativity, and access to joy.




Spirit, Mind, & Brain


Book Description

Preeminent psychoanalyst Mortimer Ostow believes that early childhood emotional attachments form the cognitive underpinnings of spiritual experience and religious motivation. His hypothesis, which is verifiable, relies on psychological and neurobiological evidence but is respectful of the human need for spiritual value. Ostow begins by classifying the three parts of the spiritual experience: awe, Spirituality proper, and mysticism. After he pinpoints the psychological origins of these feelings in infancy, he discusses the foundations of religious sentiment and practice and the brain processes associated with spiritual experience. He then focuses on spirituality's relationship to mood regulation, and the role of negative spirituality in fostering religious fundamentalism and demonic possession. Ostow concludes with an analysis of an essay by the psychoanalyst Donald M. Marcus, who recounts his own spiritual experience during a Native American-style "vision quest" in the woods. Marcus's account demonstrates the constructive potential of spirituality and the way in which spirituality retrieves and recapitulates feelings of attachment to the mother. Persuasively and brilliantly argued, Spirit, Mind, and Brain brings the disciplines of religion, behavorial neuroscience, and philosophy to bear on a groundbreaking new method for understanding religious ritual and belief.




How God Changes Your Brain


Book Description

God is great—for your mental, physical, and spiritual health. Based on new evidence culled from brain-scan studies, a wide-reaching survey of people’s religious and spiritual experiences, and the authors’ analyses of adult drawings of God, neuroscientist Andrew Newberg and therapist Mark Robert Waldman offer the following breakthrough discoveries: • Not only do prayer and spiritual practice reduce stress, but just twelve minutes of meditation per day may slow down the aging process. • Contemplating a loving God rather than a punitive God reduces anxiety and depression and increases feelings of security, compassion, and love. • Fundamentalism, in and of itself, can be personally beneficial, but the prejudice generated by extreme beliefs can permanently damage your brain. • Intense prayer and meditation permanently change numerous structures and functions in the brain, altering your values and the way you perceive reality. Both a revelatory work of modern science and a practical guide for readers to enhance their physical and emotional health, How God Changes Your Brain is a first-of-a-kind book about faith that is as credible as it is inspiring.




Spiritual Practices for the Brain


Book Description

2021 Illumination Book Awards, Silver Medal: Health/Wellness For centuries, spiritual and meditative practices have helped people become more calm, focused, and happy. Christian saints such as John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila encouraged habits of the heart and soul. Now we know that such habits benefit the whole person. In Spiritual Practices for the Brain, Anne Kertz Kernion (founder of Cards by Anne) relies on the most current research to link spiritual practices to improved health. Relying on her education and experience in brain development, positive psychology, and theology, Anne is able to relate seemingly simple practices such as focused breathing, gardening, practicing kindness, or going for a walk with powerful results for your mind, body, and soul. Her presentation is friendly and readable, and each chapter explores a specific topic such as the Breath, Gratitude, and Self-Compassion, and includes simple practices for readers to try. As an artist and an exercise instructor, she exudes encouragement and hope for the person learning a new practice or revisiting an old one.




The Spiritual Brain


Book Description

“A very important book, clearly explaining non-materialist neuroscience in simple terms appropriate for the lay reader.” — Jeffrey M. Schwartz, MD, Research Psychiatrist, UCLA, author of The Brain Lock and The Mind and the Brain “The Spiritual Brain is a wonderful and important book...a necessary read for both the scientist and the religious person.” — Andrew Newberg, M.D. Associate Professor of Radiology and Director of the Center for Spirituality and the Mind at the University of Pennsylvania.and co-author of Why We Believe What We Believe. “A refreshing antidote to the arguments offered by some scientists who insist that their minds, and yours, are meaningless illusions.” — Dean Radin, PhD, Senior Scientist, Institute of Noetic Sciences and author of The Conscious Universe and Entangled Minds “A sweeping critique of the trend to explain away religious experience as a brain artifact, pathology, or evolutionary quirk.” — Publishers Weekly In clear, readable prose, avoiding highly technical language, neuroscientist Beauregard argues merely physical explanations for religious experience are insufficient. Recommended.” — Library Journal Lends scientific credence to the existence of a higher or universal consciousness. — Booklist (starred review) Drawing on Beauregard’s own research into religious experiences, a researched case for the nonmaterial—and ultimately spiritual—nature of man. — World Magazine Beauregard uses evidence to show that the self or soul is not simply locked inside the skull. — Philadelphia Inquirer I heartily advocate the purchase of this book — Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith Mario Beauregard and Denyse O’Leary have produced a provocatively titled book covering an equally provocative topic. — Christian's Scholar Review




The Spiritual Doorway in the Brain


Book Description

"Bold, provocative, and highly readable." -V. S. Ramachandran, M.D., author of Phantoms in the Brain What are near-death experiences, out-of-body sensations, and spiritual ecstasy? And what do they have in common? Perhaps no one is more qualified to answer these questions than renowned neurobiologist Dr. Kevin Nelson. Drawing on his more than three decades of groundbreaking research into the "borderlands of consciousness," Dr. Nelson offers an unprecedented journey into the site of spiritual experience: the brain. Filled with amazing firsthand accounts as varied as a patient seeing the devil battling with his guardian angel to a man watching the universe synchronize around a pinball machine, The Spiritual Doorway in the Brain is an eloquent examination of our brains' spiritual "hardwiring" that will enthrall believers and skeptics alike.




The Mind of the Spirit


Book Description

Leading Scholar Explores Paul's Teaching on the Mind This major work by a leading New Testament scholar explores an important but neglected area of Pauline theology, Paul's teaching about the mind. In discussing matters such as the corrupted mind, the mind of Christ, and the renewal of the mind, Paul adapts language from popular intellectual thought in his day, but he does so in a way distinctively focused on Christ and Christ's role in the believer's transformation. Keener enables readers to understand this thought world so they can interpret Paul's language for contemporary Christian life. The book helps overcome a false separation between following the Spirit and using human judgment and provides a new foundation for relating biblical studies and Christian counseling.




The God-Shaped Brain


Book Description

What you believe about God actually changes your brain. Psychiatrist Tim Jennings unveils how our brains and bodies thrive when we have a healthy understanding of who God is. This expanded edition now includes a study guide to help you discover how neuroscience and Scripture come together to bring healing and transformation to our lives.




Anatomy of the Soul


Book Description

Do you want to improve your relationships and experience lasting personal change? Join Curt Thompson, M.D., on an amazing journey to discover the surprising pathways for transformation hidden inside your own mind. Integrating new findings in neuroscience and attachment with Christian spirituality, Dr. Thompson reveals how it is possible to rewire your mind, altering your brain patterns and literally making you more like the person God intended you to be. Explaining discoveries about the brain in layman’s terms, he shows how you can be mentally transformed through spiritual practices, interaction with Scripture, and connections with other people. He also provides practical exercises to help you experience healing in areas where you’ve been struggling. Insightful and challenging, "Anatomy of the Soul" illustrates how learning about one of God’s most miraculous creations—your brain—can enrich your life, your relationships, and your impact on the world around you.




Changing your Mind


Book Description

This book takes you on a journey that unpacks and demystifies what spiritual growth is and how it unfolds. The aim is to set you on your own path toward genuine, personal spiritual transformation. The book provides all the tools you need - biblical, scientific, and practical - so that you can develop your own pathway for spiritual growth. What is unique about Victor Copan's approach to spiritual growth is that he explores recent findings of brain research as well as scientific research on habitformation and brings them into conversation with the process of spiritual formation. Research on the brain and on habit formation has uncovered significant insights about the process and dynamics of human transformation that can be fruitfully incorporated into our own pursuit of spiritual transformation. Tapping into this research allows us to work in concert with how God designed humans to function - body, soul, and spirit.